the focus of this segment the role of government. the way it was all split up was six different segments, each lasting about 15 minutes or so. the first was asked of president obama, and it was about jobs, specifically the difference in how these two candidates will create jobs. the focus has been on the middle class [ cheering ] tonight's debate focussed on domestic policy issues. >> are we going to double down on the top down economic policies that could help get us into this mess or do we embrace a new economic patriotism that says america does best when the middle class does best. >> under the president's policies, middle income americans have been buried. they're just being crushed. middle income americans have seen their income come down by $4,300. this is a tax in and of itself. >> the magnitude of the tax cuts you're talking about governor would end up resulting in severe hardship for people but more importantly would not help us grow. >> you said you'd cut the deficit in half. it's now four years later. we still have trillio